1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to the web-based exchange of content such as interactive content or video and, more particularly to a method and apparatus for generating a contextual timeline for use in assessing the effectiveness of the content exchanged and/or the presenter(s) of the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
The costs associated with travel have increased substantially over time. This trend, and the widespread availability of high-speed Internet access, has led many institutions to move their meetings, conferences and video presentations online. A typical use case for web-based tools such as Adobe® Connect™ from ADOBE Systems Incorporated involves a presentation wherein one or more people (referred to herein as “hosts”) organize an online interaction, and one or more people present a presentation containing content to a number of interested people (referred to herein as “invited participants” or, simply, “participants”). The online interaction may be a meeting, collaboration, webinar, pre-recorded video, or any other form of multiparty interaction on the web. As used herein, the term “online meeting” is meant to signify any type of multi-party interaction with content delivered over the web whether “live” or generated ahead of time (e.g., a pre-recorded presentation or video).
As with “in-person” meetings, the host(s) and/or presenter(s) associated with an online interaction often rely on feedback voluntarily provided by the participants at the conclusion of the meeting. From the perspective of the host, such feedback can be used to gauge the effectiveness of the presenter. The feedback may even be a determinative factor in whether or not the host invites the presenter back to present again. From the perspective of the presenter, on the other hand, participant feedback could potentially identify aspects of a presentation which need improvement or, in the alternative, aspects which have been well received by one or more participants. In practice, however, few participants (online or otherwise) leave meaningful feedback of the type which would have any diagnostic value to the host(s) and/or presenter(s).
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus for generating a contextual timeline for use in assessing the effectiveness of presenters or the materials used by the presenters.